'The Killing': Finale caps season of mixed ratings for AMC

Detectives Stephen Holder (Joel Kinnaman) and Sarah Linden (Mireille Enos) close in on the serial killer known as the Pied Piper in Part I of Sunday's two-hour Season 3 finale of AMC's "The Killing."

Detectives Stephen Holder (Joel Kinnaman) and Sarah Linden (Mireille Enos) close in on the serial killer known as the Pied Piper in Part I of Sunday's two-hour Season 3 finale of AMC's "The Killing." (Carole Segal / AMC)

Scott Collins

Ratings for Sunday's season finale of "The Killing" had news good and bad for AMC.

The moody crime drama drew a total of 1.5 million viewers, according to Nielsen. That's up 7% compared with the Season 2 closer in June 2012, and in line with overall ratings this season.

Still, that's probably not the kind of growth AMC was hoping for this year.

Last year, you'll recall, the network announced it wouldn't bring back "The Killing" for a third season. But the show returned in an unusual deal among the Fox studio, AMC and Netflix, with AMC getting TV rights to air the show again.

Recapturing the early buzz surrounding the series has proved tough, however. When it premiered in 2011, writer-producer Veena Sud's adaptation of a Danish crime hit scored an impressive 2.7 million viewers, and the show was a critical darling. But a disastrous and anti-climactic Season 1 finale left fans feeling cheated, with many bailing on the show.

The numbers for Sunday prove that a lot of those viewers still haven't come back.